Instructions: Read the text below to find the answers to the questions on your worksheet.

Working is good for you!At this time of year many people, in Europe at least, are returning to work after their summer holiday. No doubt there are some who look forward to this but there are many more who display little enthusiasm. They get up in the morning thinking "If only I didn't have to go to work", or "Wouldn't it be nice if I never had to work again!"

However, according to several studies on the subject, they might well be wrong. Work is good for your health, apparently. "Work" in this case means "paid employment", not housework or voluntary work.

Not working is bad for you!It is true that there are people who enjoy not having a job. There are no meetings to attend, no reports to write, no customers to please, no presentations to give, no corporate decisions to make.

But for the rest of us, losing a job is traumatic. Many studies link unemployment with illnesses, both mental and physical, which disappear when a new job is found.

Research suggests that if someone does a job simply to earn money they do not suffer so severely if they lose that job, but if someone does a job which enables them to express themselves emotionally or creatively, or if they feel that what they do is useful to society, then they may suffer badly if they become unemployed.

Studies show that middle-aged people in general suffer more than younger and older people when they lose their jobs, possibly because they have more commitments such as children to support, a mortgage to pay, etc. Men in general (and single women) suffer less than married women, according to studies carried out. Also, people's reactions to unemployment can vary depending on their sex: unemployed men tend to seek solace in alcohol whereas unemployed women tend to become clinically depressed.

Unemployment can also lead to poverty, though in many countries the government provides financial support (known in the UK as "the dole") for those out of work. Poverty can lead to bad nutrition, bad housing, and consequently, ill health.

So, perhaps the daily grind of getting up and going to work isn't so bad after all!

Quick QuizRead the clues below and write the solutions on a piece of paper. Then take the first letter of each answer and rearrange them to find the hidden word connected with this Talking Point.

1. It is true that there are people who enjoy not having a job. But for the rest of us, __________ a job is traumatic.

2. People's reactions to unemployment can vary __________ on their sex.

3. Research suggests that if someone does a job simply to __________ money they do not suffer so severely if they lose that job.